Mick Foley
|birth_place = Bloomington, Indiana |death_date = |death_place = |resides = East Setauket, New York |billed = Long Island, New York |trainer = Dominic DeNucci |debut = June 24, 1983 |retired = }} Michael Francis "Mick" Foley, Sr. (June 7, 1965) is an American actor, author, comedian, voice actor, and professional wrestler. He has worked for many wrestling promotions, including World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE, formerly World Wrestling Federation), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), and was recently fired from Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He is often referred to as "The Hardcore Legend", a nickname he shares with Terry Funk. He is currently signed to WWE. Throughout his wrestling career, Foley has wrestled both under his real name and under various personas (most notably Cactus Jack, Mankind and Dude Love). He was the first ever WWF Hardcore Champion and also a three-time WWF Champion as Mankind. He has also won the WWF World tag team title eight times, the ECW World tag team title two times, and the WCW World tag team title once. Following his retirement from a full-time wrestling schedule, Foley appeared occasionally with WWE as a special guest referee and, later, a color commentator for the SmackDown brand. Upon his departure from the company in 2008, he signed with TNA, where he was the storyline majority stock holder of the company. There, Foley has held the TNA World heavyweight title and the TNA Legends (now known as Television) Championship. In addition to wrestling, Foley is a multiple-time New York Times bestselling autobiographer. He was also a subject of the documentary Beyond the Mat, which followed him at the peak of his career. More recently, he has signed on for Bloodstained Memoirs, another wrestling documentary. Career Early career Mick Foley formally trained at Dominic DeNucci's wrestling school in Freedom, Pennsylvania, driving several hours weekly from his college campus in Cortland, New York, and debuted in 1983. In addition to appearing on DeNucci's cards, Foley and several other students also took part in some squash matches for WWF TV tapings, wrestling under the name "Jack Foley," including a match where Foley and Les Thornton faced The British Bulldogs, during which The Dynamite Kid clotheslined Foley with such force that he was unable to eat solid food for several weeks. After several years of wrestling in the independent circuit, Foley began receiving offers from various regional promotions, including the UWF. He joined Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Alliance as Cactus Jack, where he teamed with Gary Young as part of the Stud Stable. Cactus and Young briefly held the CWA tag titles in late 1988. On November 20, Foley left CWA for Texas-based World Class Championship Wrestling. In World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), Cactus Jack, billed as Cactus Jack Manson, was a major part of Skandor Akbar's stable. Foley also won several titles, including the company's light heavyweight and tag team titles before leaving the company, losing his last match to Eric Embry in nine seconds. He then briefly competed in Alabama's Continental Wrestling Federation before completing a brief stint with World Championship Wrestling, including a match against Mil Máscaras at Clash of the Champions X: Texas Shootout. It was during this period that Foley was involved in a car accident that resulted in the loss of his two front teeth, adding to the distinctive look for which he is famous. Following the short stint with WCW, Foley then signed with Herb Abrams's Universal Wrestling Federation. In UWF, Foley teamed with Bob Orton to feud with Don Muraco, Sunny Beach, and Brian Blair. He soon left UWF for Tri-State Wrestling (a forerunner to Extreme Championship Wrestling), whose style of high impact and violent wrestling style fit Foley well. On one night, known as Tri-State's Summer Sizzler 1991, Cactus Jack and Eddie Gilbert had three matches in one night: Cactus won a Falls Count Anywhere match, lost a Stretcher match, and then fought to a double disqualification in a Steel Cage match. These matches caught the attention of World Championship Wrestling promoters, and after a brief stint working in the Global Wrestling Federation, he joined WCW. World Championship Wrestling (1991–1994) On September 5, 1991, Cactus Jack debuted as a Heel and attacked Sting. After feuds with Van Hammer and Abdullah the Butcher, Cactus Jack faced Sting, then WCW champion, in a non-title Falls Count Anywhere match at Beach Blast in 1992, which Sting won. For a long time, Foley considered this the best match he ever worked. Cactus Jack first wrestled Vader on April 6, 1993. Foley tried to repair a knee injury with "do it yourself" surgery and failed, leaving him unable to walk for eight months.needed As a result, in the rematch with Vader on April 23, the two executed a dangerous spot to sell a storyline injury. Vader removed the protective mats at ringside and powerbombed Cactus onto the exposed concrete floor, causing a legitimate concussion and causing Foley to temporarily lose sensation in his left foot and hand. While Foley was away, WCW ran an angle where Cactus Jack's absence was explained with a farcical comedy storyline in which he went crazy, was institutionalized, escaped, and developed amnesia. Foley had wanted the injury storyline to be very serious and generate genuine sympathy for him before his return. The comedy vignettes that WCW produced instead were so bad that Foley jokes in Have a Nice Day that they were the brainchild of WCW executives who regarded a surefire moneymaking feud as a problem that needed to be solved. Foley returned in the fall of 1993 to save Davey Boy Smith from an attack by Vader. He then proceeded to feud with Vader and other wrestlers managed by Harley Race, Jack's former manager. In one of WCW's most brutal matches of all time, Cactus faced Vader in a Texas Death match at Halloween Havoc. Race won the match for Vader by using a cattle prod on Cactus, knocking him out for over ten seconds. The level of violence involved in this feud caused WCW to refuse to ever again book Cactus Jack against Vader on a pay-per-view. On March 16, 1994, during a WCW European tour, Foley and Vader had one of the most infamous matches in wrestling history in Munich, Germany. Foley began a hangman, a spot where a wrestler's head is tangled between the top two ring ropes, which is usually painful but safe (though dangerous since the ring ropes are not ropes but steel cables in rubber casing). Unbeknownst to Foley, however, 2 Cold Scorpio had earlier complained that the ropes were too loose, resulting in the ring staff tightening the ropes to the maximum. As Foley struggled to pull himself out, he tore off two-thirds of his ear and underwent surgery later that day to reattach the cartilage from the ear to his head, so that a total reconstruction would be possible in the future. Later that year, Cactus Jack and Kevin Sullivan were scheduled to win the tag team titles at Slamboree in 1994. Foley had to choose between reattaching his ear or wrestling in the pay-per-view and winning the titles. Foley chose to wrestle and won his only championship in WCW. Later on, Foley was frustrated by WCW's reluctance to work a storyline around losing his ear. WCW also shared a brief co-promotion with ECW during this time in which Foley represented WCW on ECW television as the WCW Tag Team champion. During a promo, Foley spat on his Tag Team title belt and threw it to the ground to appeal to the hardcore fans who frowned upon the mainstream promotions. Although Foley meant no disrespect to the title, Ric Flair and WCW execs were not pleased with this display and Foley was reprimanded. World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment Multiple personalities (1996–1998) Foley arrived in the WWF in 1996 with a new gimmick: Mankind, a tortured soul who constantly squealed (even throughout his matches), shrieked "Mommy!", spoke to a rat, enjoyed pain, had a bulge of epic proportions, physically abused himself (such as by pulling out his hair), wore a mask and lived in boiler rooms; hence, his specialty match, the Boiler Room brawl. Mankind debuted the day after WrestleMania XII, quickly moving into a feud with The Undertaker. This feud continued through King of the Ring, Mankind's WWF pay-per-view debut. During the match, Undertaker's manager, Paul Bearer, "accidentally" struck him with the urn, allowing Mankind to apply the mandible claw for the win. The two then began interfering in each other's matches until they were booked in the first ever Boiler Room brawl, in which the goal was to escape the arena's boiler room and reach the ring to take the urn from Paul Bearer. The Undertaker appeared to have won, but Paul Bearer refused to hand him the urn, allowing Mankind to win, thus (for the time being) ending the relationship between Paul and the Undertaker. While Mankind was managed by Paul Bearer, he referred to him as "Uncle Paul." Mankind then earned the number one contendership to face the then WWF Champion Shawn Michaels at In Your House: Mind Games. Michaels won by disqualification via interference by Vader and The Undertaker. For several years, Foley considered this match his best ever, saying "Sure, at 280 pounds I still looked like hell, but after a brutal cardiovascular training regimen, I was able to go full-tilt for twenty-seven minutes with a smaller, quicker, better athlete than me."32 The Mankind-Undertaker feud continued with the first ever Buried Alive match at In Your House: Buried Alive. Undertaker won the match, but Paul Bearer, Terry Gordy (as the Executioner), Mankind and other heels attacked 'Taker and buried him alive. Afterward, he challenged Mankind to a match at Survivor Series, which he won. The feud ended after one more match at In Your House: Revenge of the Taker for the WWF Championship, which Undertaker had won at WrestleMania 13. Undertaker won the match and Bearer took a leave of absence, ending the feud. Jim Ross then began conducting a series of interviews with Mankind. During the interviews, Ross brought up the topic of Foley's home videos and the character he played in them, Dude Love. Around this time, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels won the WWF Tag Team Championships from Owen Hart and The British Bulldog, but Michaels was injured and could no longer compete. Mankind tried to replace him, but Austin said he wanted "nothing to do with a freak" and resigned himself to facing Hart and the Bulldog alone the next week. Halfway into the match, however, Foley debuted a new persona known as Dude Love who suddenly appeared and helped Austin take the victory, becoming the new Tag Team Champions. Austin and Dude vacated their tag team titles when Austin suffered a (legitimate) serious neck injury at the hands of Owen Hart at SummerSlam. Dude Love feuded with Hunter Hearst Helmsley, as the two competed in a Falls Count Anywhere match. One of Foley's most memorable vignettes aired before the match began, in which Dude Love and Mankind discussed who should wrestle the upcoming match. Eventually, "they" decided that it should be Cactus Jack, and Foley's old character made his WWF debut. Jack won the match with a Piledriver through a table. Shortly thereafter, Extreme Championship Wrestling's Terry Funk joined the WWF as "Chainsaw Charlie," and he and Jack defeated the New Age Outlaws at WrestleMania XIV in a Dumpster match to win the tag team titles. The next night, however, Vince McMahon stripped them of the belts and scheduled a rematch in a steel cage, which the Outlaws won with help from their new allies, D-Generation X. On April 6, 1998, Foley turned heel when Cactus Jack explained the fans would not see him anymore because they did not appreciate him and only cared about Stone Cold Steve Austin. Vince McMahon explained to Austin the next week that he would face a "mystery" opponent at Unforgiven. That opponent turned out to be Dude Love, who won the match by disqualification, meaning that Austin retained the title. McMahon, displeased with the outcome, required Foley to prove he deserved another shot at Austin's title with a number one contendership match against his former partner, Terry Funk. The match was both the WWF's first ever "Hardcore match" and the first time that Foley wrestled under his own name. Foley won, and after the match, a proud McMahon came out to Dude Love's music and presented Foley with the Dude Love costume. At Over the Edge, Dude Love took on Austin for the title. McMahon designated his subordinates Gerald Brisco and Pat Patterson as the timekeeper and ring announcer, and made himself the special referee. The Undertaker, however, came to ringside to ensure McMahon called the match fairly, and with his presence, Dude Love lost the match and was "fired" by McMahon the next night. Hell in a Cell Foley then reverted to his Mankind character, who began wearing an untucked shirt with a loose necktie and feuding with The Undertaker. At King of the Ring, the two competed in the second Hell in a Cell match. In one of the most famous matches in professional wrestling history, Foley received numerous injuries and took two dangerous and highly influential bumps. The first one came as both wrestlers were brawling on top of the cell, and Undertaker threw Mankind from a height of sixteen feet and sent him crashing through the Spanish announcers' table. This event also triggered Jim Ross famously shouting "Good God almighty! Good God almighty! They've killed him! As God as my witness, he is broken in half!". With both men back on the top of the cell, Undertaker chokeslammed Mankind, and a section of the cage gave way. Foley fell through and hit the ring hard. A chair that had been atop the cage also slammed Foley's head and knocked out a tooth as he hit the canvas. He was also knocked unconscious for a few moments from the impact, but he finished the match after waking up. Although Mankind lost, both wrestlers received a standing ovation for the match, and the event is often said to have jump-started Foley's main event career. Many future matches attempted to replicate some of the spots from this match. In his autobiography Have a Nice Day! A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks, Foley wrote that he couldn't remember much of what happened, and he had to watch a tape of the match to write about it. The match was voted by Pro Wrestling Illustrated as Match of the Year for 1998. Although many fans regard the match as a classic, it has generated controversy as well. Critics charge that the falls in the match were so extreme and they set the bar for further bumps so high that the inevitable attempts to equal or surpass them would be unsafe for the wrestlers involved. Additionally, in his autobiography, Terry Funk wrote that both falls, including the second one through the cage, were planned. Some sources, including Power Slam magazine and Pro Wrestling Torch, reported that Foley denied planning this bump to placate his wife, who was furious with him after the match. Foley said in his first book that his wife cried during a post match phone conversation between the two, and this made Foley strongly consider retiring from wrestling. He also said that after the match, Vince McMahon thanked him for all he had done for the company, but made Foley promise to "never do anything like that again." He also made mention in the book of a rather humorous exchange he and Undertaker had backstage while being checked out by Dr. Pettit, the company's resident doctor. Foley, still somewhat dazed from the concussion he sustained, turned to the Undertaker and asked "Did I use the thumbtacks?", a staple of some of Foley's early matches. The Undertaker looked at him and rather sternly replied "Look at your arm, Mick!", at which point Foley discovered a significant number of thumbtacks still lodged in his arm. Mr. Socko, the WWF Championship and retirement (1998–2000) Although conventional wisdom holds that the Hell in a Cell match was responsible for Foley's rise to main event status, live television crowds did not initially get behind Mankind because of the match. Foley decided that crowds might respond better if Mankind were more of a comedy character, and so he became less of a tortured soul and more of a goofy, broken down oaf. While Vince McMahon was in a hospital nursing wounds suffered at the hands of The Undertaker and Kane, Mankind arrived to cheer him up. Having succeeded only in irritating McMahon, Mankind unveiled a sock puppet named Mr. Socko. Intended to be a one-time joke, Socko became an overnight sensation. Mankind began putting the sock on his hand before applying his finisher, the mandible claw, stuffing a smelly sock in the mouths of opposing wrestlers. The sweatsock became massively popular with the fans, mainly because it was marketed (mostly by Jerry "The King" Lawler during the events) as being a dirty, smelly, sweaty, repulsive, and vile sock. McMahon manipulated Mankind, who saw the WWF owner as a father figure, into doing his bidding. McMahon created the Hardcore Championship and awarded it to Mankind, making him the first-ever champion of the hardcore division. Mankind was then pushed as the favorite to win the WWF Championship at Survivor Series, as McMahon appeared to be manipulating the tournament so that Mankind would win. He and The Rock both reached the finals, where McMahon turned on Mankind. As The Rock placed Mankind in the Sharpshooter, McMahon ordered the timekeeper to ring the bell even though Mankind did not submit, a reference to the Montreal Screwjob from the year before. After weeks of trying to get his hands on McMahon's new faction, the Corporation, Mankind received a title shot with The Rock at In Your House. Mankind knocked The Rock out by shoving a dirty sweatsock in the Rock's mouth, but McMahon ruled that the title would not change hands because The Rock never gave up. After several weeks of going after the Corporation, Mankind had his big night on December 29, where Mankind defeated The Rock and won his first WWF championship. The taped show was broadcast on January 4, 1999, so that is the date WWE recognizes as beginning the title run. Having title changes on broadcast television rather than pay-per-view was uncommon in professional wrestling, but because of the Monday Night Wars, TV ratings became more important. The rival WCW, attempting to take advantage of the fact that their show Monday Nitro aired live while Mankind's title victory was taped the week before, had announcer Tony Schiavone reveal the ending of the Mankind-Rock match before it aired. He then added sarcastically, "That'll put a lot of butts in the seats." The move backfired for WCW, as Nielsen ratings showed that Raw won the ratings battle that night, despite the Hogan vs. Nash main event which led to the reformation of the New World Order. Foley said that the ratings indicate that large numbers of viewers switched from Nitro to Raw to see him win the title and took great personal pride from this, and "Mick Foley put my ass in this seat" signs began showing up at WWF events. Mankind first lost the WWF title to The Rock in a "I Quit" match at Royal Rumble. During the match, Foley took several bumps, including eleven unprotected chairshots. This match is featured on Barry Blaustein's documentary Beyond the Mat, which shows the impact the match had on Foley and his family at ringside. The match ended after Mankind lost consciousness and The Rock's allies played a recording of Mankind saying "I Quit" from an earlier interview. The match was also voted 1999's Match of the Year by the readers of Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Mankind won the title back at a rematch on Halftime Heat, which aired during halftime at Super Bowl XXXIII, in the WWF's first ever Empty Arena match. The two then competed in a Last Man Standing match at St. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House, which ended without a winner, meaning that Mankind retained the title. Mankind was said to have thrown out his left shoulder early in the match, but showed no signs of it and refused to stop the match. It had to be popped back into place afterwards. The next night, Mr. McMahon booked a ladder match for the championship, which The Rock won with help from The Big Show. Later in the year, Foley and The Rock patched up their friendship and teamed up to form a comedy team called the Rock 'n' Sock Connection, becoming one of the most popular teams during that time. The pair won the tag team titles on three occasions. Foley helped WWF Raw achieve its highest ratings ever with a segment featuring himself (as Mankind) and The Rock. The "This is Your Life" segment aired on September 27, 1999 and received an 8.4 rating. Foley returned from knee surgery as Mankind to win the WWF Championship for the third time at SummerSlam in a triple threat match against Steve Austin and Triple H. It is believed that Mankind was booked to win the championship that night because Austin refused to lose it to Triple H. Triple H defeated Mankind and won the title the next night on Raw. A major feud developed between Mankind and the McMahon-Helmsley regime, led by Triple H, which led to Mankind's reverting to his Cactus Jack persona and facing Triple H for the WWF Championship at Royal Rumble in a Street Fight. Cactus used barbed wire and thumbtacks, trademark weapons from his pre-WWF days, but Triple H won the match after delivering two pedigrees, the second onto a pile of tacks. This feud culminated with a rematch at No Way Out in a Hell in a Cell match, where stipulations held that if Cactus Jack did not win the title, Foley would retire from wrestling. Triple H won, ostensibly ending Foley's career. Foley left for a few weeks but returned at the request of Linda McMahon to wrestle for the title at WrestleMania 2000 against Triple H, The Rock, and The Big Show. Triple H won, and Foley did not wrestle again for four years. Commissioner (2000–2001) After retiring from active competition, Foley served as storyline WWF Commissioner under his real name rather than one of his personas. Foley has said that he intended for his Commissioner Foley character to be a "role model for nerds," cracking lame jokes and making no attempt to appear tough or scary. He aldo had a knack during this time to have no one spot for his office; rather, Mick would have an office in all sorts of odd places (for example, closets). Foley turned getting cheap pops into something of a catchphrase, as he shamelessly declared at each WWF show that he was thrilled to be "right here in (whatever city he was performing in)!" punctuated with an intentionally cheesy thumbs-up gesture. During this time, Commissioner Foley engaged in rivalries with Kurt Angle, Edge and Christian, and Vince McMahon without actually wrestling them. He left the position in December 2000 after being "fired" on screen by McMahon. Foley made a surprise return on the Monday Night Raw just prior to WrestleMania X-Seven and announced that he would be the special guest referee in the match between Mr. McMahon and his son Shane at WrestleMania. After WrestleMania, Foley made sporadic WWF TV appearances throughout the spring and summer, at one point introducing Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura during a taping of Raw in the state as a foil to Mr. McMahon, as well as serving as the guest referee for the Earl Hebner versus Nick Patrick Referee match at the WWF Invasion pay-per-view. Foley returned as commissioner in October 2001, near the end of The Invasion angle. During this brief tenure, Foley had the opportunity to shoot on the WWF's direction and how dissatisfied he was with it. Saying that there were far too many championships in the company, he booked unification matches prior to the final pay-per-view of the storyline, Survivor Series. After Survivor Series, he ended his commissionership at Vince McMahon's request and left the company. Referee, sporadic appearances, commentator and departure (2003–2008) Foley returned in June 2003 to referee the Hell in a Cell match between Triple H and Kevin Nash at Bad Blood. On June 23, during a Raw broadcast in Madison Square Garden, he was honored for his achievements in the ring and presented with the retired WWE Hardcore Championship belt. The evening ended with Foley taking a beating and kicked down stairs by Randy Orton and Ric Flair. In December 2003, Foley returned to replace Steve Austin as co-general manager of Raw. He soon grew tired of the day-to-day travel and left his full-time duties to write and spend time with his family. In the storyline, Foley was afraid to wrestle a match with Intercontinental Champion Randy Orton and walked out of the arena rather than face him. TNA (2008-Present) Executive shareholder and debut (2008–2009) On September 3, 2008, Foley's agency, Gillespie Talent, issued a press release that stated Foley had signed a short-term deal with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). Foley claimed in the statement to be "very excited about the specifics of this agreement and the potential it holds". Foley made his TNA debut on September 5, at a TNA house show giving a short speech about how he loved the product, in which he also belittled WWE. The official TNA Wrestling website featured an image of a smiley face with a variation of Foley's catch phrase, "Have a nice day!" (and, before No Surrender, "Have a nice Sunday!"). Foley at a TNA house show in Dublin, Ireland in January 2009 On the September 18, 2008 edition of Impact!, Foley made his first televised appearance for TNA, where Jeff Jarrett introduced him to the audience on the arena's video wall. Two weeks later, Foley made his full television debut in a promo making comments about the WWE roster, Vince McMahon and Kurt Angle. At Bound for Glory IV, he was the special guest enforcer for Jarrett and Angle's match. Later, on Impact!, Foley said goodbye, but was then approached by Jeff Jarrett with a new offer; he later indicated that they had come to terms on a new contract and would make a major announcement the next week. On the October 23 episode of Impact!, Foley announced that he was now co-owner of TNA along with Jarrett, just after Kurt Angle headbutted him. On November 27, Thanksgiving Day, TNA presented the Turkey Bowl. Alex Shelley ended up being pinned by Rhino, and Foley handed Rhino the check. Afterwards, the defeated Shelley had to put on a Turkey Suit in compliance with the match rules, albeit with much refusal. However, Shelley "flipped off" Foley and proceeded to beat him up. In the aftermath, Mick mentioned that Shelley is lucky he still has his job. The Main Event Mafia's Kevin Nash, Booker T, and Scott Steiner were going to take on Brother Devon, A.J. Styles, and Mick Foley in his debut matchup at Genesis. Nash, however, suffered a legitimate staph infection and missed Genesis. He was replaced by Cute Kip. Foley got the pin when he hit Scott Steiner with a double arm DDT onto a chair. Mick Foley reigning the TNA Belts On April 19, 2009 at Lockdown, he defeated Sting to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship for his first ever championship in TNA, and his fourth World title overall. Mick did not lose the championship, but Sting became the new leader of the Main Event Mafia by pinning Kurt Angle at Sacrifice. Foley had also stated on Impact! tapings that if he retained the TNA World Heavyweight Title at the King of the Mountain match at Slammiversary, he would only put the title up in a match once a year. However, he lost the title to Kurt Angle in the King of The Mountain match at Slammiversary. He received a rematch at Victory Road, commenting he had only submitted once in his career (to Terry Funk, in a spinning toe hold) and swore he'd never do it again. He lost the match when Angle forced him to submit again with the ankle lock. On July 30, 2009, the 200th episode of Impact!, Foley won the TNA Legends Championship by pinning champion Kevin Nash in a tag team match where Nash teamed with Angle and Foley with Bobby Lashley. At Hard Justice Nash defeated Foley to regain the title, following interference from Traci Brooks. Storylining with Abyss On the September 24 edition of Impact! Foley turned heel when he attacked Abyss during and after a TNA World Tag Team Championship match against Booker T and Scott Steiner. Foley revealed Abyss as the one who tore up his picture and beat him to a bloody pulp with a video tape and the baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire. Abyss then challenged Foley to a Monster's Ball match which Foley accepted. At Bound for Glory Abyss defeated Foley in the match. Two weeks later, Foley turned face by turning on Dr. Stevie and saved Abyss from him. The following week he explained that he had played Dr. Stevie all along and had challenged Abyss to a match at Bound for Glory in order to see how tough he really was. On the November 12 edition of Impact! Raven returned to TNA and saved Stevie's future in the company by costing Abyss a match and throwing a fireball in Foley's face. Storyline with Eric Bischoff After this, Foley turned his attention away from Abyss and Dr. Stevie and concentrated on Hulk Hogan's arrival in TNA, appearing to be paranoid about Hogan taking over TNA. On the December 3 edition of Impact! Foley teased another heel turn by booking face Kurt Angle in a handicap match, after Angle refused to give him information on who Hogan is bringing to TNA. At Final Resolution Abyss and Foley defeated Stevie and Raven in a "Foley's Funhouse" tag team match. On January 4, 2010, the day of Hulk Hogan's debut for TNA, Foley was assaulted by the reunited Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Sean Waltman, when trying to get a meeting with Hogan. On the January 21 edition of Impact! new Executive Producer Eric Bischoff fired Foley, after claiming to have been attacked by him. Later, on February 11, Bischoff and Foley "talked it over", as Hogan suggested 2 weeks prior, and Foley was entered in the 8-Card Stud Tournament at Against All Odds. The match was a No-Disqualification match against Abyss, the latter of whom won the match and advanced.On the February 11 edition of Impact!, Bischoff and Foley "talked it over", as Hogan had suggested two weeks prior, and Foley was entered in the 8 Card Stud Tournament at Against All Odds. The match was a No Disqualification match against Abyss, who won the match and advanced. On the March 15 edition of Impact! Bischoff announced that he would be shaving Foley bald as a punishment for trying to help Jeff Jarrett in a handicap match the previous week. At first Foley was seemingly going along with the plan, but at the last second he shoved Mr. Socko down Bischoff's throat, put him on the barber's chair and shaved him nearly bald. On the following edition of Impact!, Foley lost to Jarrett in a No Disqualification Career vs. Career match set up by Bischoff, forcing Foley to kayfabe leave TNA. Various Sub-Appearances, House Shows, Possible WWE return and Full TNA return Foley returned to TNA on July 12, 2010, at the tapings of the July 15 edition of Impact!, leading an invasion of fellow ECW alumni TNA World Heavyweight Champion Rob Van Dam, Tommy Dreamer, Raven, Stevie Richards, Rhino, Brother Devon, Pat Kenney and Al Snow. The following week, TNA president Dixie Carter agreed to give the ECW alumni their own reunion pay–per–view event, Hardcore Justice 2010, as a celebration of hardcore wrestling and a final farewell to the company. At the event Foley refereed a Final Showdown match between Tommy Dreamer and Raven. On the following edition of Impact!, the ECW alumni, known collectively as Extreme, Version 2.0 (EV 2.0), were assaulted by A.J. Styles, Kazarian, Robert Roode, James Storm, Douglas Williams and Matt Morgan of Ric Flair's Fourtune stable, who thought they didn't deserve to be in TNA. In August Foley began writing a weekly column for TNA's website. On the October 7, 2010 live edition of iMPACT!, Foley defeated Ric Flair in a Last Man Standing match making a special event of the special IMPACT!. At Bound for Glory Foley was in EV 2.0's corner, when Dreamer, Raven, Rhino, Richards and Sabu defeated Fourtune members Styles, Kazarian, Morgan, Roode and Storm in a Lethal Lockdown match. After not appearing for 3 months, Foley appeared on a TNA impact Live event, confronting Mr. Anderson, saying that he was not fit enough to fight Jeff Hardy on TNA Genesis (2011). He later was on commentary on Anderson's match teaming with Bully Ray against Matt Morgan and Brother Devon. At a Backstage segment Foley had confronted Fortune and Immortal. On Genesis Foley interrupted Anderson's and Hardy's match hitting Hardy with a Steel Chair and fought Ric Flair for interfering. After Genesis, Foley once again disappeared from TNA television, but kept making regular appearances at TNA house shows. Foley's TNA DVD "The Hardcore Legend" got released on April 19, 2011, later on Wrestling Observer Newsletter stated that TNA is planing major storylines for Foley very soon. Mick Foley wrote on Twitter that he is contemplating asking TNA Wrestling permission to attend The Rock's birthday celebration next month on Monday Night RAW. The Rock advertised for the May 2nd episode of Monday Night RAW in Miami, which occurs on his birthday. Foley stated "Is @therock really having a birthday party on Raw? Maybe they'll show a clip of the pardookie I threw him in '99. Think Yurple will show up?" Foley continued, "I just received 57 messages in the last 2 min -The people WANT the Mick @therock 's party, they NEED the Mick @therock 's party!" Foley added moments later, "And 62 new ones in the last two minutes as well. Guess it couldn't hurt to ask for a one day furlough from TNA to help @therock celebrate." After asking TNA, they allowed Foley with full chances therefore Foley headed to WWE however they did not give him the permission. The Network Mick Foley surprised Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff by revealing himself as the network representative of Spike TV. He was unable to goad them into attacking him, as he wanted to fire them. He introduced Chyna as Kurt Angle's tag team partner for Sacrifice 2011. Then he announced that TNA Impact would be changing its name to Impact Wrestling, with the motto "wrestling matters". This is a stark contrast to the WWE which has de-emphasized the "wrestling" by changing to an orphaned initialism. Foley then announced a Battle Royale to determine the #1 Contender at Slammiversary 2011. He then came on to co-announce during it. Eventually Ken Anderson won the battle. Return to the WWE Mick had been teasing fans allot about his return and finally came down to an end when WWE had advertised his return live. His return got delayed for unknown reasons and Foley stated that he was interested in fighting The Miz. Foley returned to WWE at a house show in Dublin, Ireland on November 2, 2011, where he was introduced by Justin Roberts, his theme hit and he interrupted Awesome Truth confronting them that he will be in physical action sooner than they think. After cutting the in-ring promo he had guest refereed the tag-team house show main event. We would then return on "RAW gets Rocked" having a "Cena this is your life" segment. Later the Rock would come and Rock Bottom him and leave in despair. Mick then hosted a Christmas special of SmackDOWN! on Tuesday, and came out with "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase at the 2011 Slammy awards, as the "Bleep" Part of the "Holy Bleep" Moment of the year announcers (as DiBiase was a Minister, he was the "Holy" Part of their duo, says DiBiase), in which the winner/s were the Big Show & Mark Henry in their Vengeance match. Foley was cut off from TV for while until from 16 January 2012, where he cut a starting promo saying that how much he loves to fight in the ring and he says that he will be at the Royal Rumble match so his kids could see him fight one more time. He as interrupted by Ziggler and they cut a segment. John Laurinitis declined Foley's appearance later. At the Main Event, Mick Foley interrupted and help Punk get the pin. Laurinitis came again and hit a strong segment with Punk. When Punk would leave Laurinitis started ranting about his disrespect. Mick Foley then complain on Laurinitis because of his arrogant GM behavior and called him a "Kiss-Ass". Foley was then attacked by Laurinitis by a mic to the chin. He then had an exclusive interview with WWE.com saying that the diss of Laurinitis will not stop from physically getting involved. Foley then entered the Rumble and managed to make 3 elimination but failed to win it as he was eliminated by Cody Rhodes. Mick Foley was later not seen on Television or House Shows. In the storyline's most offensive skit so far of Eve and Ryders thing, Eve Torres confronted Cena, who responded by trying to get the crowd to chant "Hoeski" at her and urged the diva not to get too close to him because, in his words, "I'm disease-free and would like to keep it that way." Eve was reduced to a fallen, weeping wreck from the attack. Speaking about last Monday's episode of Raw, which saw Ryder confront Eve live on the show and call her "a Hoeski," Foley wrote: "It's important to be able to disagree without being disagreeable. '@ZackRyder''' should just say #noski when it comes to using the word #hoeski." He would clarify: ''I think @zackryder can come out of this looking good, but not if he gives into something as cheap and easy as name-calling As The Rock 'n' Sock connection Later on, besides feuding with Triple H, The Rock also feuded with Mr. Ass throughout the summer of 1999, including a "Kiss My Ass" match at SummerSlam. In the fall of the same year, The Rock found himself in several singles and tag team championship opportunities. He teamed with former enemy Mankind to create the Rock 'n' Sock Connection, after The Rock challenged the team of The Undertaker and The Big Show, which led to Mankind offering his help. The Rock accepted, and they went on to win the WWF Tag Team Championship three times.Aside from the championships, the team was regarded as one of the most entertaining teams in history, as Mankind imitated The Rock, who ignored Mankind, with both wrestlers having support from the crowd. The team was also involved in a segment which occurred on Raw is War called "This Is Your Life", in which Mankind brought out people from The Rock's past, such as his high school girlfriend and gym teacher. The segment earned an 8.4 Nielsen rating and is, to this day, one of the single highest rated segments in terms of viewership in Raw history. Personal life Mick Foley has participated in numerous Make-A-Wish Foundation events, made surprise visits to children in hospitals and worked with the Christian Children's Fund. Foley has also visited schools and libraries, talking to students about the value of education and the importance of reading and traveled to various military bases and military hospitals to visit U.S. troops. In the summer of 2004, Mick Foley spoke at the College Democrats of America Convention in Boston. He also opposed conservative John Bradshaw Layfield in a special debate on Raw prior to the 2004 presidential election. Mick Foley is married to Collette Foley, née Colette Christie. The couple have three sons, Dewey Francis (born in 1992), Michael Francis, Jr. (born in 2001), a third son Huey (born in 2003), who was mentioned at WrestleMania XX, as well as on the August 21, 2006, episode of Raw and a daughter, Noelle Margaret (born in 1993). Mick Foley's house in East Setauket, NY USA on Hawkins Street, the last house of the street on the right side before entering Bay-view Avenue. Foley suffered a tragic childhood. The first day Folay finally found himself Hardcore was the time he was wrestling against his friend before starting his profession. Foley was then kicked in the jaw and was rapidly bleeding. Foley hardly took notice and beat his friend brutally. When joining the WWF/WWE/TNA Foley was called the Hardcore Legend, surprisingly his new nickname by fans is the The Hardcore God. Mick Foley usually is a sponsor for the fund of welfare, therefore he supported many Sports teams. In the past few years Foley has become involved as a donor and volunteer with RAINN (Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network), joining their National Leadership Council, a small group of key supporters who have given their time and money to help RAINN eliminate sexual violence. Foley committed to funding a larger primary school as well which was completed in September, 2009. Foley has been outspoken in his support for the Democratic party. Attended college at, and played lacrosse for SUNY Cortland. Personality Mick Foley is a fan-favorite and shows his love to his fans right back. However due to his over used time by time different gimmicks, Mick Foley is shown to be a Sick and Twisted man who abuses himself and loves pain and agony. On the other side Mick Foley is shown to be a fun loving guy who is on free-run for charity and often gives cheesy reactions. Foley has a huge interest in Occasional Celebrations regarding his religion such as Christmas as he has made books on them. Foley is fond of Charity giving. Wrestling facts *'Finishing moves' **''Cactus Elbow'' (Diving elbow drop to the outside of the ring, sometimes from the ringapron or another elevated surface) **Double arm DDT **''Mandible Claw'' (WWF/E/TNA) / Love Handle (WWF) / Mr. Socko (WWF/E) (the latter of the three named for the dirty sock Foley places over his hand to perform the move) *'Signature moves' **Biting the opponent's forehead **''Cactus Clothesline'' - innovated **''Cactus Jack Crack Smash'' (Diving senton from off the apron to the outside) **Foley hits several punches to the opponent's face followed by performing his "Bang! Bang!" taunt **''Stump-Puller Piledriver'' (Pulling ppiledriver) **Running double axe handle to an opponent in the tree of woe position **Running knee strike to the face of a seated opponent in the corner **Running swinging neckbreaker **Sunset flip **''Sweet Shin Music'' (Superkick to the shin) - parodied from Shawn Michaels *'Tag teams and stables' :*Rock 'n' Sock Connection - with The Rock :*Cartel :*Devastation, Inc. :*Raven's Nest :*Union *'Managers' :*Paul Bearer (WWF) (1996-1998) :*Melina (WWE) (2007) *'Theme music' :*"Back In Black" by AC/DC (ECW) :*"Born To Be Wild" by Steppenwolf (ECW, ROH) :*"Schizophrenic" by Jim Johnston (WWF) :*"Welcome To The Jungle" by Guns N' Roses (UWF) :*"Symphony of Destruction" by Megadeath (IWA Japan, SMW) :*"Wreck" by Jim Johnston (WWF/WWE) :*"Bang Bang" by Dale Oliver (TNA) :*"Bang Bang" by Dale Oliver (remake and lyrics) (TNA) Championships and accomplishments *'Continental Wrestling Association' :*CWA Tag Team Champion (1 time) - with Gary Young *'Extreme Championship Wrestling' :*ECW World Tag Team Champion (2 times) - with Mikey Whipwreck *'George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame' :*Frank Gotch Award *'International Wrestling Association' :*IWA Tag Team Champion (1 time) - with Tracy Smothers *'IWA Japan' :*IWA King Of The Death Matches Champion (1995) *'Music City Wrestling' :*OMW/NAASW North American Heavyweight Champion (1 time) *'Steel City Wrestling' :*SCW Heavyweight Champion (1 time) *'World Championship Wrestling' :*WCW World Tag Team Champion (1 time) - with Kevin Sullivan *'World Class Wrestling Association' :*WCWA Light Heavyweight Champion (1 time) :*WCWA Tag Team Champion (2 times) - with Scott Braddock (1) and Gary Young (1) *'World Wrestling Federation' :*WWF Champion (3 times) :*WWF Hardcore Champion (1 time) (First) :* WWF World Tag Team Champion (8 times) - with Stone Cold Steve Austin (1), Chainsaw Charlie (1), Kane (2), Al Snow (1), and The Rock (3) *'Total Nonstop Action Wrestling' :*TNA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) :*TNA Legends Championship (1 time) WCW, ECW, WWE, & TNA Title Victory History: TNA *World Championship *4/19/09 Lockdown – beat Sting in a cage match *Legends Championship *7/1/09 iMPACT! – w/ Lashley beat Champion Kevin Nash & Kurt Angle WCW *Tag Team Title *5/22/94 Slamboree – with Kevin Sullivan beat The Nasty Boys ECW *Tag Team Title *8/27/94 – with Mikey Whipwreck beat The Public Enemy *12/29/95 – Mikey Whipwreck beat 2 Cold Scorpio to win the title WWE *WWE Championship12/29/98 – The Rock *1/26/99 Halftime Heat – The Rock *8/22/99 SummerSlam – Beat Steve Austin & Triple H Hardcore Title *11/2/98 – awarded the new title from Vince McMahon due to his loyalty to Vince World Tag Team Title *7/14/97 – Dude Love & Steve Austin beat Owen Hart & Davey Boy Smith *3/29/98 WrestleMania 14 – Cactus Jack & Chainsaw Charlie beat The New Age Outlaws *7/13/98 – Mankind & Kane beat The New Age Outlaws *8/10/98 – Mankind & Kane beat Steve Austin & The Undertaker *8/30/99 – Mankind & The Rock beat The Undertaker & The Big Show *9/20/99 - Mankind & The Rock beat The Undertaker & The Big Show *10/12/99 – Mankind & The Rock beat The New Age Outlaws *11/2/99 – Mankind & Al Snow beat Bob & Crash Holly Quotes Injuries Mick Foley himself is the Hardcore Legend and has suffered many injuries through that. *Six concussions from 1986 to 1998 *One broken jaw in 1986 *Two broken noses in 1993 *One broken cheekbone in 1998 *Lost four front teeth from 1989 to 1998 *Two-thirds of his ear ripped off in 1993 *A separated shoulder in 1990 *A fractured left shoulder in 1989 *A dislocated shoulder in 1998 *Second degree burn on his shoulder in 1995 *Second degree burns on his arm in 1995 *54 stitches on his left arm in 1995 *A broken right wrist in 1989 *Bone chips in his right elbow in 1996 *Six broken ribs from 1991 to 1998 *A torn abdominal in 1992 *A torn ACL *A broken toe in 1991 *A total of over 300 stitches in his arms, head, eyebrows, hands, ears, shin, cheek and lip *Thousands of thumb tack holes See also *Mick Foley: Hard Knocks & Cheap Pops *Mick Foley's Greatest Hits And Misses *Mick Foley's event history *Mick Foley's gimmicks *Mick Foley's Image gallery - A gallery of Mick Foley images. Books Mick Foley is a famous author in the USA, therefore his career in writing career made him the New york times best seller. Mick Foley's latest work is called Countdown to Lockdown which was another of his memoirs. *Foley, Mick (1999) Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks. ReganBooks. ISBN 0-06-039299-1. *Foley, Mick (2000) Mick Foley's Christmas Chaos. ReganBooks. ISBN 0-06-039414-5. *Foley, Mick (2001) Mick Foley's Halloween Hijinx. HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0-06-000251-4. *Foley, Mick (2001) Foley Is Good: And the Real World is Faker Than Wrestling. ReganBooks. ISBN 0-06-103241-7. *Foley, Mick (2003) Tietam Brown. Knopf. ISBN 0-375-41550-5. *Foley, Mick (2004) Tales From Wrescal Lane. World Wrestling Entertainment. ISBN 0-7434-6634-9. *Foley, Mick (2005) Scooter. Knopf. ISBN 1-4000-4414-6. *Foley, Mick (2007) The Hardcore Diaries. PocketBooks. ISBN 1-4165-3157-2 *(2010) Countdown to Lockdown: A Hardcore Journal. Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 0-446-56461-3 Filmography *2010: Family Feud - as Himself (5 episodes) *2010: "Warren the Ape: Anger Management" - as Himself *2010: Savage Hot Babe Massacre *2009: The Daily Show - Nov 19, 2009 Comedy Sketch as "Senior Asskicker" *2009: Hard Knocks - as TBA (Post-Production) *2009: Tattoo's: A Scared History - as Himself *2009: Finding Sandler - as Himself (Pre-Production) *2009: Squidbillies - as Thunderclap (1 Episode, Anabolic-Holic) *2007: Anamorph - as Antique Store Owner *2007: Staten Island - as Pawn Shop Owner *2007: Bloodstained Memoirs - as Himself *2006–2007: Avatar: The Last Airbender - as The Boulder (Voice, 2 Episodes) *2003: Jimmy Kimmel Live - as Himself (Guest Co-Host, 5 Episodes) *2001: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno - as Himself (1 Episode) *2001: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? - as Himself (Contestant) *2001: Robot Wars: Extreme Wars - as Himself (Host) *2000: Saturday Night Live - as Himself (1 Episode) *2000: Big Money Hustlas - as Cactus Sac *2000: Now and Again - as Charlie (1 Episode, "The Eggman Cometh") *2000: Celebrity Death Match - as Mankind (1 Episode, "Battle of the Heavy Metal Headbangers") *1999: Late Night with Conan O'Brien - as Himself (1 Episode) *1999: The Martin Short Show - as Himself (1 Episode) *1999: The Howard Stern Show - as Himself (1 Episode) *1999: The Howard Stern Radio Show - as Himself (1 Episode) *1999: G vs E - as Himself (1 Episode, "Sunday Night Evil") *1999: Boy Meets World - as Mankind (1 Episode, "For Love And Apartments") *1999: Total Request Live - as Mankind (1 Episode) *1999: Beyond the Mat - as Himself Trivia *Foley took his trademark catchphrase "Bang, Bang!" from the B-52's song "Love Shack." The song was running through his head at the end of a match, and he held his fingers up like pistols while reciting the "bang bang bang on the door..." verse. *At the 1998 Royal Rumble Foley appeared as Cactus Jack, Mankind, and Dude Love, the only time in which one performer appeared in the Rumble under multiple gimmicks. *Foley was leading the online poll for Time Magazine's Man of the Year honor in 1998 before being removed as a candidate. *Mick Foley helped WWF Raw achieve its highest ratings ever with a segment featuring himself (as Mankind) and The Rock. The "This is Your Life" segment aired on September 27, 1999, and received an 8.4 rating. *Mick Foley is a huge fan and collector of Christmas memorabilia such as ornaments, figurines, music, decorations and the like. *Along with partner Al Snow, won the tag team titles from the New Age Outlaws on November 5, 1999, and held the title for 3 days. Is one of the shortest title reigns ever recorded. *Apparently, Mankind's sock puppet friend Mr. Socko was TNA's agent Al Snow's idea. *The WWF originally wanted the mouthpiece of his Mankind mask to resemble the mask Hannibal Lecter wore in The Silence of the Lambs (1991), complete with bars across the mouth. *One of his teammates on the wrestling team at Ward Melville High School was future actor, Kevin James. *Former Co-General Manager of Raw. External videos Themes NwC0tHPOIaw&feature=fvw kxjXm3nwLqk&feature=fvw yP_1wYMZzgs&feature=fvw OVOLamr0Xlg&feature=fvw m-pSlWl1enk&feature=fvw External links *Mick Foley profile at CAGEMATCH.net *Wrestling's Long History of the Bait and Switch at Pro Wrestling Arena zh:Mick Foley Category:American wrestlers Category:Frank Gotch Award Winners Category:Wrestling executives Category:Commentators Category:Managers and valets Category:Referees Category:WWE Champions Category:TNA World Heavyweight Champions Category:1965 births Category:1983 debuts Category:American Wrestling Association alumni Category:Ballpark Brawl alumni Category:Border City Wrestling alumni Category:Catch Wrestling Association alumni Category:Continental Wrestling Association alumni Category:Continental Wrestling Federation alumni Category:Extreme Championship Wrestling alumni Category:Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling alumni Category:Global Wrestling Federation alumni Category:Great Lakes Championship Wrestling alumni Category:Hardcore Homecoming alumni Category:HUSTLE alumni Category:International Wrestling Cartel alumni Category:IWA Japan alumni Category:IWA Mid-South alumni Category:Music City Wrestling alumni Category:New York Wrestling Connection alumni Category:Northeast Wrestling alumni Category:NWA Great Lakes alumni Category:Pro Wrestling ZERO1 alumni Category:Ring of Honor alumni Category:Smoky Mountain Wrestling alumni Category:Steel City Wrestling alumni Category:Tri-State Wrestling Alliance alumni Category:Total Nonstop Action Wrestling alumni Category:Universal Wrestling Federation (Bill Watts) alumni Category:Universal Wrestling Federation (Herb Abrams) alumni Category:USA Pro Wrestling alumni Category:World Championship Wrestling alumni Category:World Class Wrestling Association alumni Category:World League Wrestling alumni Category:World Wrestling Entertainment current roster Category:WrestleReunion alumni Category:Masked Wrestlers Category:TNA Legends/Global/Television Champions